


Young Justice: Cadmus Clones

by JLub (Aprotny)



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clones, Project Cadmus, Project Cadmus (DCU) is Evil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-09-23 17:53:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20344246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aprotny/pseuds/JLub
Summary: What if Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad didn't escape Cadmus?





	1. Robin One

Dick gasped awake. The last thing he remembered was being defeated by Project Kr.

Uh oh. How long had it been?

He could hear faint voices and suddenly realized he was in a pod. He was also not in his Robin uniform. Even his mask was gone. He strained his ears to hear what was being said.

“...to dispose of them.”

“They’re just kids.”

“Orders are orders. Kill Aqualad and Kid Flash first. Robin could still be of use to us in other experiments.”

Dick turned his head slightly. Wally was to his left. He was pretty sure Kaldur’ahm was on the other side of Wally. His wrists were pinned above his head and he didn’t have his gloves with the lock picks. He’d have to make do without them.

He managed to get his right wrist free before a cry distracted him. A quick glance showed Wally to be fine. Still unconscious, but unhurt. He couldn’t see Kaldur’ahm though.

Quickly, he used his right hand to free his left and then pounded on the glass, distracting the scientists.

“Robin’s awake! Stop him!”

The glass was beginning to crack. A device lifted from the bottom of the pod. Dick knew instinctively that it had sedative in it.

He kicked it until it broke, dodging when it tried to jab him with the sedative.

He then used all his strength to break through the glass.

Tumbling out, he took down the scientists, with difficulty, but they were down.

Glancing back at the pods, Dick gasped in dismay when he saw Kaldur’ahm. The Atlantean was bleeding out and unconscious.

“Aqualad!” He cried, releasing the restraints on both pods and running up to the eldest of the three sidekicks. “Aqualad, wake up!”

Footsteps. He had to do something. He had to escape. He debated his options. Kaldur'ahm would likely die if he left him here, but could also possibly die anyways before they got to a hospital. He was also really heavy. Wally was unconscious, but lighter than Kaldur'ahm and more likely to survive. He’d need help escaping and Wally was his best bet. But he couldn’t just leave Kaldur'ahm.

Time was running out as he debated. Grimacing, he whispered an apology, tears in his eyes, and ran to pull Kid Flash onto his back.

He barely managed to dodge Desmond and several other Cadmus “scientists” as he raced out of the room.

They sped after him. He ducked into a room and quickly barricaded the door before looking for air vents.

“KF. KF, please wake up.” Dick shook Wally hard, but the older boy didn’t wake. Dick looked around frantically and pulled Wally behind a pod, much like the ones they’d been kept in, and launched into the air vents. Hopefully, he could lead them away due to the motion sensors.

His plan worked, but he was recaptured. As he was re-sedated, he sent one last prayer to anyone listening.  _ Please don’t let them find KF. _


	2. Batman

Batman was mighty suspicious from the moment his ward and the other two missing sidekicks made it out of Cadmus with Superboy.

The two months they’d been missing were a complete blank in all three, no four, boys’ memories and Batman couldn’t shake the feeling something was very, very off.

So, after allowing the four boys to create a team (he’d suspected they’d want to and made preparations in advance, even as his willingness to let them decreased with each day they were missing), he asked (read: forced) Robin to stay at Mount Justice with his new friends.

The boy was confused and Batman didn’t give any answers. He knew Dick was smart enough to figure out Batman was suspicious of the events at Cadmus and wanted to protect them both, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it.

A month had passed and Artemis and M’gann had joined the team. Martian Manhunter took some convincing after the Cadmus fiasco to let his niece join, but M’gann wanted friends and the team was definitely a way to get them.

So far, things were going smoothly, but Batman still wouldn’t let Robin come home, even making him go to school through the Zeta Tubes.

Something was fishy, and Batman wasn’t about to let his guard down.


	3. Kid Flash One

Wally stirred quietly. Opening his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that it was pitch-black. No lights. The second was a vent cover by his feet.

“Don’t just stand there! Find Kid Flash! He should still be out, but not for long!” A chill ran down his back at the shouted words. The next set of spoken language discomforted him further.

“Sir, the transfer has been completed. The executives at the other facility report that Robin made it to them in one piece.”

“Did he regain consciousness? It was a minor sedative.”

“Yes, but the execs were able to handle him. He was still disoriented.”

“Evacuate this base. Leave behind nothing of value. We might not know where that other pesky sidekick is, but, if we blow this place up, either he’ll die or he’ll have nothing to lead the other heroes back to. Should they believe his story, that is.”

“And Aqualad?”

“The body can burn with the rubble. He’s already dead anyhow.”

Wally could barely stop himself from hyperventilating. Aqualad was dead and he was separated by who-knows-how-much distance from Robin. On top of that, he’d been out for an undetermined amount of time. There were too many unknowns. All he knew was that if he didn’t make it out of here quickly, he’d be killed. 

A light popped on and Wally was relieved to find he was hidden in a narrow crevice. Probably Robin’s doing.

Whatever he was hiding behind prevented the people or creatures (What people? And what were those creatures? Where was he again?) from finding him. As it was, they stopped in front of the object.

“Do we take him with us, sir?”

“No. One original sidekick loose is enough of a problem. I don’t want to take the chance of this one getting loose too.”

“He’s been dormant for three years.”

“Which negates any use we could make of him. Leave him.”

“Yes sir.”

Wally waited for the door to slide shut and the footsteps to recede before squeezing out of his hiding place. The light had been left on and the room was empty.

Mostly empty. Wally turned around.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”


	4. Robin Two

“Come on, Bats! It’s been over a month!” Robin begged. “You’ve quarantined me long enough! I want to go home!”

“Mission, Robin.” Batman scowled. Robin had cornered him as he’d been about to leave after a mission briefing.

Kid Flash zipped up to them. “I’m on Robin’s side. Why can’t he go home? You better not claim secret identity problems. He’s Robin.”

Batman glared at Kid Flash, who backed up with his hands in an “I surrender” position.

“Uhhh. Good luck, Rob.”

Robin didn’t look at him, keeping his eyes on Batman. “You won’t let me go home. You won’t let me join you on patrol. You won’t let me tell my friends my ID. What will you let me do?!”

“Go to school. See your friends at Mount Justice. Work on confidential missions.”

Robin gritted his teeth. “You would’ve let me do that anyways! Let me go home!”

“No.” The word hung in the air as they both stared at each other, one glaring, the other watching carefully.

Robin was the one to back down, surprisingly. “Guess I’ll see you after the mission. If you bother to visit.” His tone was still snippy. Batman watched him stalk off, and resolved to keep a closer eye on him.

The likelihood of him sneaking off to Wally’s or Roy’s after the mission was pretty high, after all.


	5. Kid Flash One

It was night when Wally came to a stop in Central City. He tried to catch his breath after leaning Little Roy against the side of the house. Just as he was about to slip in and announce himself, another blur sped up to the house.

His jaw dropped as he watched himself lean down to let Dick off. The younger was wearing sunglasses and looked upset.

He took a step back as the two entered the house, his double loudly announcing himself and Dick.

He hadn’t been noticed yet. He could still get away from here. While he wanted answers as to why there was another Wally West, he didn’t want to face that person who definitely couldn’t be Rob.

He crept close to the window, taking care to stay out of sight against the wall.

He could hear voices inside. Other Robin was explaining how Batman wouldn’t let him come home since the “Cadmus incident” and how he was sick of it and decided to go home with Wally after the debriefing. He claimed Batman okayed it, but Wally was sure they all knew it wasn’t true.

Hearing a soft moan, Wally crept back to Little Roy.

Little Roy opened his eyes groggily. Wally quickly put a finger to his companion’s lips.

“Shh. We gotta get out of here. Get on my back. I’ll explain later.” Little Roy looked about to shout, so Wally added, “Please?”

Little Roy adopted a hesitant expression before finally complying.

Wally sped away. He didn’t know where he was going, but he had to get away from Central.

Away from the doubles.


	6. Robin Two

Robin got in huge trouble for sneaking off when he finally returned to Mount Justice. The boy was upset Batman hadn’t come looking for him, but he knew Batman had known where he was the whole time. The man probably just wanted to give him time to cool off.

Granted, he was more willing to stay once Zatanna showed up for the first time. Since it was unknown when she would visit, he was quite eager to keep an eye out for her.

Wally teased the younger boy about his crush just to get the reply “what about you and Artemis?” whenever he did so.

Going after a freak who called himself harm on Halloween with Artemis and Zatanna was fun. Haunting, but a relief from his ongoing grounding at Mount Justice.

Hopefully, November would bring some further relief. Maybe Batman would even let him go home for Thanksgiving.

Maybe.


	7. Artemis

Artemis jumped when she noticed Batman behind her. “Uhhh… hi Batman. Green Arrow said you had a private mission for me?”

“I have a lead on Cadmus. If anyone else on the team finds out, I suspect all of you will pursue it. I am trusting you to go on this alone. Think of it as a proving ground.”

Artemis immediately felt uncomfortable. “Why are you keeping this from Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad? It’s not fair to them. They really want to find out what happened to them.”

“Should you find anything, I will be the one to tell them. They will not know of your involvement. It is essential they do not fall back into Cadmus’s hands.”

Artemis took a deep breath. “Okay. I’ll go it alone. For them. I don’t want them to be recaptured either.”

Batman gave a curt nod. “Here’s what I know.”

* * *

Artemis had been with Cadmus for less than a day. By sneakily helping with things around the base, she learned a lot, but one sighting overwhelmed all those facts.

She was helping prep some chemicals when he was dragged in, struggling hard against the genomorphs restraining him. Artemis had to fight herself not to stare wide-eyed. She was supposedly with Cadmus. She should know about him. She focused hard on what she was doing, using every ounce of willpower not to look at him.

“Give me 20 mg/kg of Sodium thiopental.” The lead scientist ordered. Artemis paused a moment before cautiously measuring it out and handing it over. Their captive struggled harder, but quickly lost consciousness as the drug was administered.

No sooner had the full effect of the drug taken place when the scientists suddenly blipped out of view.

Artemis blinked several times, unsure if what she was seeing was real.

She was alone with Cadmus’s captive.

Gulping, she quickly went to work freeing him from the chair he’d been restrained to.

“Dick. Dick, wake… wait. You probably can’t. I don’t know that drug, but I’m sure it’s not meant to allow you to wake up quickly.”

She opened the door to the room they were in and peeked out. Not many genomorphs around. The coast was basically clear.

Dick was surprisingly light to carry. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t expected that. How long had he been Cadmus’s captive? She’d just seen him at school on…

She froze. In her investigations on Cadmus that day, she’d seen mention of cloning. And Superboy was a clone. It wouldn’t be hard for them to clone a human boy. Much easier than a Kryptonian. That could only mean…

“Focus, Artemis.” She whispered to herself. “So you’ve figured out their identities. Big deal. Get him out and figure out the rest later.” She adjusted her grip on Dick/Robin, and hurried the rest of the way out of Cadmus, not stopping until she reached the spot where she’d left her borrowed-from-Batman motorcycle.

She looked at the motorcycle, then at Dick/Robin.

“Looks like I’m going helmetless.” She strapped the helmet onto the unconscious boy’s head and settled him on the motorcycle in front of her.

She hit the on button, kicked up the stand, and was off.

The roads were basically empty, excluding the crashed, abandoned cars here and there. She reached a town and pulled into the nearest alleyway.

“Now to call Batman.” She whispered, leaning Dick/Robin against the wall of the alley and pulling her comm unit out of her pocket.

Her phone slipped out as she did so, and now she saw it was on and streaming a message.

“...we know with the adults gone, there’s a temptation to run wild. Please do not.”

Her eyes widened as she realized it was her teammates.

She tapped her comm unit to call Batman, but got no response.

Biting her lip, she called her teammates. “What’s going on?”

“So now she answers!” Kid Flash grunted. “When it’s too late for her to come help!”

“Artemis, where have you been?” Aqualad asked, sounding somewhat out of breath.

“Confidential mission. Where are you guys?”

“Roanoke! Trying to get the worlds to merge back together!” Miss Martian cut in. “Surely you noticed the adults were gone?!”

“Worked out in my favor. But that sounds like a mess.”

“That’s her response?!” Kid Flash growled.

“While we would appreciate some help, I doubt you can get to us at the moment. Likely, you will know when it’s over.”

Artemis glanced at Dick/Robin. “Keep me posted.”

She put her comm unit away and shook Dick/Robin lightly. “How long will that drug take to wear off? It was a pretty high dosage…”

Taking a deep breath, she settled herself down to wait.


	8. Robin One, Artemis, Artemis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided longer chapters were a needed change.  
There will be three parts to each chapter now, narrated by the three names at the top. Hope this lengthens things a bit. :)

Dick stiffened as he came to. He was leaning against a wall, probably in his cell, although it felt somewhat different.

He could vaguely hear a female nearby, ranting. “This is nuts. What do I tell everyone? Do I tell them anything? Is there a contingency plan for something like this? Get traught, Artemis. Get traught.”

Some sort of device was on his head. His breathing sped up as he failed to recognize what it was.

“Hey hey. Easy now. It’s okay. You’re out.” The female quickly switched to soothing him when she realized he was awake.

Cautiously, he peeked open one eye, and then the other. A teenage girl was leaning over him. He swore he’d seen her in Cadmus before he was sedated. What was going on?

“S-stay away from me!” He hissed. To his surprise, the girl took a step back and then looked around.

Dick noticed for the first time that he was not in a cell, but in a narrow hallway. But it was bright out. The light didn’t seem superficial.

He dared to look up.

The sun. There was the sun, just rising or setting. But how? Was this all in his head?

“Listen.” Urgency was clear in the girl’s tone. “As much as I’d like to give you time to take this all in, we need to go. Cadmus has probably realized you’re gone right now. You have no reason to trust me, but I need you to.”

Dick stared at her, uncomprehending.

“I can get you to Gotham.” 

Those words broke through the fog, and silent tears leaked down his cheeks.

“Come on. Motorcycle.” The girl continued, offering him a hand up.

Dick cautiously took it, and the girl helped him onto the motorcycle.

“H-helmet?” He finally managed to choke out.

“What do you think you’re wearing on your head? I only have one and you’re keeping it for now. No arguing.”

So the device on his head was actually a helmet. The information comforted him as he climbed shakily onto the somewhat familiar motorcycle. He wondered where she’d gotten it.

The girl settled on the seat behind him. He looked back at her.

“You’re too unsteady right now. I’m not risking you falling off.”

Dick nodded cautiously as another thought returned to his head. Who was this girl? He’d never met her before.

As if reading his mind, the girl said. “I know who you are, but you don’t know me. The name’s Artemis. I recently started working with Green Arrow.”

“Green Arrow sent you?” Dick found it hard to believe. Why would Green Arrow…?

“I’ll explain later. But no. He’s not the one who sent me. Keep your head down. Someone could recognize you and ask questions.”

Dick bobbed his head and settled in for the ride as Artemis steered the motorcycle towards the highway.

* * *

It was dark again when Artemis reached home. Her mother was overly relieved to see her.

“Artemis! Where have you…?” She trailed off at the sight of Dick. It had started raining about half an hour previously and both teens were shivering in their wet clothes, although Dick was trembling for other reasons as well. “Come in. Get changed. I’ll make some dinner.”

Artemis gently led Dick into her bedroom and dug through her clothes for something that would fit him. She then grabbed some of her own clothes. “You can either change in here or the bathroom. I’ll change in the place you don’t pick.”

Dick stayed put, shivering as he dripped water on the floor in between the beds.

Silently, Artemis put the clothes she’d found for Dick on what was formerly Jade’s bed and left the room, closing the door behind her. 

In the bathroom, she took a moment for herself, taking deep breaths.

She’d never imagined something like this being the case when she agreed to investigate Cadmus. How was she supposed to keep this from the team? And which Dick was the real one? She suspected this Dick was. Why would Cadmus hold on to the clone, after all? They had many reasons, however, to hold on to the original.”

Once she had changed, and a few extra minutes had passed, she returned to the bedroom and knocked on the door.

“Dick?” She heard footsteps and Dick cracked the door open.

“You know my name.” He stated quietly.

“I think both you and my mom deserve an explanation. For now, food. Batman still hasn’t contacted me.”

“Batman?”

Artemis nodded. “Like I said, I’ll explain. At the table.”

Dick padded past her into the kitchen. Paula smiled at him and indicated a spot at the table. Dinner was already set out.

Once they were all seated, Artemis started her explanation. Why she was at Cadmus, what she did when the adults disappeared and she found herself alone with Dick, and an explanation of her theory about clones. The last part devastated Dick.

“There’s another me running around?!”

“Quarantined at Mount Justice for the moment. Although he does go to school with me. I put two and two together when I found you at Cadmus. I know you’re Robin. The original Robin.”

Dick wilted and asked to know more about his clone.

“He has your memories, but everything after you entered Cadmus is a complete blank. He doesn’t even know how you guys met Superboy.”

“Project Kr?” Dick clarified.

“Yes. Superboy doesn’t remember meeting you either. It’s part of what caused Batman suspicion. Part of why he sent me to investigate the new Cadmus facility where I found you. He doesn’t fully trust your and Kid Flash’s and Aqualad’s clones are right in the mind.”

Dick nodded slowly. “I see.” He ate the last bite of his food and turned to Paula. “More, please?”

As Paula served up some more food for him, he stiffened and then relaxed.

“What is it?” Artemis asked.

“We’re being watched, but I think it’s Batman.”

“He did say not to tell him anything over the comm units about my mission.”

Dick smiled and thanked Paula as she gave him his seconds. Then, he glanced behind Artemis.

The girl turned around to find Batman right behind her.

He was not, however, looking at her.

Dick stood up suddenly as Batman was examining him visually. He then raced into the surprised Bat’s arms.

“Batman…” he murmured, relaxing as Batman put his arms around him. “I… Cadmus… they… we should’ve called while we were still able. Maybe then…” He swallowed harshly. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault we got captured and cloned. I never should’ve suggested the stupid mission.”

Batman tightened his grip on the boy. “You didn’t know. Even my suspicions at the time didn’t extend to what you found.”

“I’ll understand if you bench me. Maybe not forever, but still...” Tears were now leaking from Dick’s eyes.

“Give me time to find a solution to this issue. You’ll stay in a safe house for the time being.”

Dick nodded and then glanced at Artemis and Paula.

“Could… I know I just met her… but Artemis…”

“She can stay with you if she chooses to. However, that is her decision. She has proven herself worth trusting.”

Artemis froze in shock. She had Batman’s full approval? Not just as a hero but as a protector to Robin?

“What are you going to do about the clones?” Dick continued.

“It’s a delicate issue. What can you tell me about the originals? Kid Flash and Aqualad?”

Dick swallowed hard. When he spoke again, after a long pause, his voice was barely audible. “I’m not a hundred percent certain, but I believe Aqualad is dead. I managed to get KF away from the Cadmus people temporarily, but I don’t know what happened to him after that.”

Batman narrowed his eyes. Artemis could barely read him, but it was clear he wasn’t happy about the news.

She stepped forward. “With your permission, I suggest Dick and I search through all resources available from the safe house for any sign of Wally. The real Wally.”

“You’ll come with me?” Dick looked at her hopefully.

“If it’s alright with Mom. I’ll have to leave during the school day, but I can copy all my worksheets and stuff I get from school so you can catch up with your clone academically. I can also keep an eye on him and report any suspicious activity to you and Batman.”

“I’ll allow Artemis to go with you with conditions.” Paula crosses her arms. “I want to know where this safe house is and be able to enter it. Not necessarily any time, but I want to be able to visit and reassure myself that both of you are safe. I also want to be allowed to treat them to homemade meals from time to time. And Artemis must still make it to school on time.”

Batman nodded, still holding Dick tightly. “Conditions accepted. However, you are both to be careful not to be seen entering or exiting the safe house. And Dick, you are not to leave the safe house except in an emergency situation until I say otherwise. Stay put and stay safe.”

Dick nodded carefully, murmuring, “After Cadmus, I admit I’m not so eager to disobey.”

If Batman was concerned by the words, Artemis wasn’t certain. As it was, he soon turned to her.

“Pack what you need. We leave for the safe house in half an hour.” And to Dick: “I’m going to tell Agent A to meet us there with plenty of supplies.”

“Peanut?”

“I’ll tell him to add her to the list. We’ll explain the situation to him at the safe house.”

* * *

Artemis was nervous when she got to school the next day. After meeting with Agent A and settling in at the safe house with real Dick, it was quite late. Add to that the time she spent tossing and turning due to the revelations that came with finding real Dick at Cadmus and she was very uncomfortable with having to go to school and deal with fake Dick.

She spent most of the day avoiding him, although she was sure it wouldn’t go unnoticed. Sure enough, she turned from her locker at the end of the day to find fake Dick right behind her.

“Why have you been avoiding me?” He asked, eyes narrowed. “Babs was upset you refused to sit with us at lunch. She blamed me for it.”

“It has nothing to do with you, Dick.” Artemis said. “I’m just stressed and didn’t want to deal with your and Barbara’s antics today.”

Fake Dick’s expression didn’t change as he examined her visually. “If you say so.” He walked away.

Once he was out of earshot, Artemis let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. What was she doing? The best way to avoid suspicion was to act normal. This behavior was not how she normally acted. She checked her phone to find a message from Johnnie, which was the codename real Dick had chosen. Something about a lost cousin or similar.

~Voldemort says you should go to the mountain of devils like normal.~ Read the message. Artemis rolled her eyes. While she understood her activities needed to be disguised, real Dick was going overboard with it.

~Voldemort?~ She texted back.

~The devil in black. :) ~ Came the response.

Artemis resisted the urge to facepalm at that. She put her phone away and headed to Mount Justice for training.

Robin overplayed his enthusiasm to see her at the mountain. Artemis wasn’t fooled, not now that she knew his secret identity and not after how she’d treated him at school. She knew he was salty for being brushed off so easily.

Training was uneventful. Fake Wally was hinting nonstop about his birthday on Thursday. Artemis knew she’d have to be there for the party, but she wasn’t happy about it. She might not have any type of relationship with the real Wally -- Didn’t even know him -- but that didn’t change the fact that she wanted to focus a lot of her time on finding him.

And keep an eye on real Dick while she was at it.


	9. Kid Flash One, Robin One, Artemis

Wally slid to a stop in the warehouse where he and Roy were currently taking refuge with a sigh. He dropped the sack of stolen food at Roy’s feet.

“I don’t like this.” He said. “I’m supposed to stop thieves, not become one.”

“You’re not Kid Flash right now.” Roy replied as he sorted through the supplies and bit into an apple. “Just as I’m not Speedy. You’re Wally. I’m Roy. And we both need to eat.”

Wally settled down next to Roy, picking up a protein bar. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Honestly, I’m surprised no one’s come to investigate the speedster thief in the midwest.”

“Just be glad you’re alive. If you hadn’t gotten us out of Cadmus when you did…”

“Don’t remind me.” Wally lowered his head. “I still don’t know what happened to Rob. He could be dead by now for all I know. Or worse. Who knows what Cadmus had planned for him.”

“If Robin got away, where would he go?”

“Gotham.”

“And if he found out about the clones?”

“Depends if Batman knows or not. My guess is a safe house not too far from Gotham. Somewhere he could keep an eye on his double.”

“Then we should look there. Do you know any safe houses near Gotham?”

“Not really. But I have an idea as to where you could put a safe house in Gotham.”

“We’ll head in that direction after we eat then.”

* * *

“You should get going for other Wally’s party.” Dick mentioned softly, looking up from his laptop.

Artemis sighed, scrolling through the web for any sign of the real Wally. “Maybe I don’t want to go.”

“Artemis, you’ve got to go. To keep your cover.  _ Our _ cover.” Dick said. “If it were me, I wouldn’t want to go either. I would be a hypocrite to force you to go, but…”

“I could say the snow stopped me from reaching the Zeta Tube…”

“It’s Gotham. People know how to drive in snow and ice.”

Silence reigned for a few minutes.

“Okay. I’ll go. Stay safe while I’m gone?”

“Of course.” Dick smirked at her. “Go argue or make a scene or something. Get kicked out.”

“Haha. Very funny.” Artemis rolled her eyes, got up, and shoved on some winter wear. “Hope you have a lead by the time I get back.”

Dick waved her off before turning back to his computer. He allowed a small frown to slip onto his face. “Where are you, Wally? Please be okay.”

A few hours passed. The snowstorm subsided slightly. It was almost seven o’clock pm when he heard a crash outside.

“Artemis?” He called. “Artemis, is that you?”

No answer. Slightly worried now, and hearing more crashes, Dick pulled up surveillance. Immediately, his eyes widened.

“Shit!” He scrambled for his comm unit. “Johnnie to Batman! Batman, come in!”

A louder crash. They were getting closer.

“Batman! Code red! Code red!” He switched to contacting Artemis. “Johnnie to Artemis!”

_ “Johnnie? What’s wrong?” _ Artemis’s voice sounded like heaven at the moment.

“It’s Cad…” A genomorph tackled him, knocking the wind out of him.

“ _ Johnnie! Johnnie, answer! _ ”

Dick used all his strength to break free of the genomorph, but more were coming.

“Cadmus! Code Red!” He managed to scream into his comm unit right before a g-gnome attacked him psychically.

“ _ I’m on my way! Hang in there!” _

“Hurry!” Dick squeaked out, unsure if she could hear him. It was taking a lot of strength just to keep the mental blocks up and he was soon surrounded.

“You’re a naughty boy, little Robin.” Dick squeezed his eyes shut when he heard Desmond.

“No…”

“Strip him and tie him up well.” Desmond commanded. “You and you, start setting the charges.”

Considering he was under attack both psychically and physically, Dick put up a pretty good fight.

It wasn’t long, however, before his flailing limbs were grabbed and a syringe stabbed into his arm.

As consciousness faded, one last thought crossed Dick’s mind.

She was too late.

* * *

“Thanks for the ride, Sphere!” Artemis leaped out of the Super-Cycle and raced for the safe house. She’d barely gone five feet when a large explosion and subsequent shockwave blew her back a couple feet.

Artemis’s eyes widened. “No!”

She rounded the corner to find the safe house in flames. She sped over to the rubble and started moving some of it aside.

She jumped when Sphere rolled up behind her, beeping.

“Was there anyone inside?” She prayed even as she asked it that it wasn’t true.

Sphere beeped and changed form back into the Super-Cycle.

“C-can you sense him? Or any nearby Genomorphs?” 

Sphere beeped again.

Artemis took that as a yes and immediately jumped into the driver’s seat.

“Go!”


	10. Robin One, Artemis, Robin Two

Dick slowly became aware of sounds of fighting. They sounded distant, but he knew they had to be closeby.

He blinked his eyes open drearily. It was dark and he was tied up on the floor of a van. No. The van was sideways. He was on the inner wall of the van.

He had no lock pick tools, but he was dealing with ropes. He might have rope burn at the end of this, but he could wriggle his way out of them.

He had just finished getting his hands loose and started untying his legs when he heard a thump against the bottom of the van. Then, the fighting stopped and all was quiet except for some footsteps coming at him fast.

The back doors of the van were flung open and Dick winced as light from the street lamps hit his eyes and cold air hit his shirtless body.

“Rob!” Dick didn’t have time to react before arms were flung around him.

“W-Wally?” He stammered. He heard arguing outside and recognized Artemis’s voice. “How…?”

“Long story. Gotta get you out of here.” Wally shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around Dick’s shoulders. “There’s a lot I need to tell you. You probably already know about our doubles, but…”

“Dick!” Artemis shoved Wally aside and wrapped her arms around the shivering boy. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”

“Replaced so fast? You wound me, man.” Wally joked. “Seriously, though. Who the hell is she? Hell of a good archer, but never met her before.”

“Shut it, Wally.”

“Wait! You know my name?!”

“Do you know where Wayne Manor is?” Artemis interjected. “I’ll meet you there with him and the other redhead. Go ahead and let Alfred know we’re coming.”

Wally looked ready to object.

Dick cut in before he could. “We can trust her, Walls. She saved me from Cadmus and earned Bats’ trust in the process.”

Wally looked between them before speeding off, stopping briefly to tell whoever “the other redhead” was what was going to happen.

Dick was surprised to see a younger Roy with a metal arm when Artemis guided him outside.

“Genomorphs are still out, but we can’t take our chances. Hop in.” Artemis told him.

Little Roy hesitated before obeying and jumping in to the alien vehicle (Was this the New Genesis tech thingy Superboy had adopted and Artemis had told Dick about?).

Artemis helped Dick in and then directed Sphere where to go.

As they went, Artemis explained to Sphere why it was dangerous to tell Superboy everything that had happened. Maybe one or two minor details wouldn’t hurt, but she couldn’t tell him everything, even if he couldn’t fully understand.

They arrived at Wayne Manor quickly and without further incident.

Alfred was waiting outside with Wally when they arrived.

The suspicion Wally regarded Artemis with reminded her of fake Wally, but she couldn’t expect anything less. He didn’t know who she was, who she was working for, where she was from, how she’d ended up with Dick, etc. etc. Plus, fake Wally had all of real Wally’s memories prior to early July. If fake Wally had reason to be suspicious of her, real Wally had even more reason.

Artemis instructed Sphere to return to Mount Justice before following the others inside the Manor. She caught up as Little Roy was settling Dick down on the couch.

“Are you hurt?” She demanded.

Dick shook his head. “Just shaken. I think my body’s still burning off the sedative as well.” He pursed his lips and glared at the ground. “I tried to fight them. I really did. But the g-gnomes were too powerful. It took a lot of energy to keep them from knocking me out psychically while I was also trying to keep them away physically. It… it was too much.”

“How did they find you?” Wally asked.

“I don’t know. Timing-wise they probably thought they could take advantage of the snow to keep away anyone who wanted to help me.”

“They almost succeeded. The Zeta Tubes were down due to weather conditions. I had to convince Superboy to let me take Sphere.”

“Superboy?” Wally turned to Artemis, assessing her sharply. “You mean Project Kr?”

“It’s a long story. Shortening it… by a lot… I’m keeping an eye on the clones. Oh. And Miss Martian and Zatanna. Why are only the girls uncloned?”

“Probably because they weren’t stupid enough to go on an unsanctioned mission with no one knowing where they went.” Dick crossed his arms and looked away from Wally at the statement.

“I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have suggested it.”

“No. I was all on board up until we got in over our heads. We should’ve called for help before we were in too deep. Aqualad… he was a good voice of reason. We should’ve listened to him.”

“Do you know… if he’s really dead?” Dick uncrossed his arms, looking earnestly at Wally.

Wally sighed. “Yes. I heard them talking about it when I woke up. Before they blew the place. There’s no way he could’ve survived both the Cadmus people killing him and the explosion.”

Dick winced. “What’s your story… um… Roy?”

“I’m not sure. I was taken not long after I became Speedy. According to Wally, I was then cloned, replaced, and stuck in a stasis pod for three years. I came to in Central City after Wally rescued me.”

“Central City? What were you…?”

“My first instinct was to go home. Then, I saw the clones. Yours and mine. Yours was pretty upset about some kinda quarantine?”

“Batman won’t let him come home. Good reason for it now, but fake Robin can’t know it.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to call him fake Robin?”

“Gotta differentiate you two in my head somehow. Still getting used to calling you Johnnie. Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday, Wally.”

“It’s November 11th?”

“Up until two minutes ago, yeah. So I’ll add in a Happy Belated Birthday to you too. B’s home.”

Wally, Artemis and Roy all spun around to see Bruce enter the room. His gaze slid over all of them before he helped himself to one of the cookies Alfred had supplied the four teens with only seconds ago.

“When was Roy cloned?” He asked the question before taking a bite.

“Three years ago, apparently. 2010, right?”

“That’s this year.”

“He’s been in a stasis pod this entire time.”

“You realize, out of the original sidekicks, it’s four for four on cloning?”

“That’s not a good thing.”

“Never said it was.”

Bruce crossed his arms. “Artemis, call your mother and let her know you’re staying here for the night and both you and Dick are alright. I’m sure she’s figured out what happened to the safe house by now.” Looking at the three boys, he added, “It’s going to be a long night.”

* * *

Artemis yawned as she walked into school the next day. It really had been a long night, and she was exhausted.

She quietly searched the courtyard for Barbara and fake Dick. She had just located them, when she froze.

In Dick’s arms was a familiar, albeit slightly charred, stuffed elephant.

Inching closer, she caught the tail end of Barbara’s question. “...idea how it ended up in a blown-up building?”

“I’m serious. I don’t know.” Dick responded. “It makes no sense to me. If she was stolen, why would someone steal a stuffed elephant? If she wasn’t stolen, then why was she there and not in the Manor?” He opened his backpack and stuffed Peanut inside. “I’ll ask Bruce about it later. Whatever the reason, I’m glad she’s still in one piece. I’d be seriously distraught to lose her, heavy on the dis.”

Artemis took that moment to approach. “Hey. What’s going on?”

Dick zipped his backpack shut so fast she could almost say he had superspeed. Barbara sent a smile her way.

“Hey Artemis. You look exhausted. Stay up late last night?”

Artemis sighed. “You don’t know the half of it. We might not have had school yesterday, but that doesn’t mean I had the day off. I was busy doing stuff late into the night.”

“What kind of stuff?” Dick looked at her in suspicion, although he was clearly trying to disguise the suspicion as innocent curiosity.

“My Mom needed some new clothes. We went shopping as soon as the roadways were clear. Then I had to help her put them away and there was laundry. Hard for her to do laundry in a wheelchair. Then…”

“So chores.” Barbara summarized.

“Yep. Lots and lots of chores.” She could tell Dick didn’t believe her. She suspected Johnnie would be laughing his head off if he could see her now. Little troll. Her lips quirked into a smile at the thought.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Dick asked.

Drat. He saw the smile. “I met a cute guy at the mall yesterday. We hit it off really well.”

“Sweet. What was his name?”

“Apollo.” She fibbed. It was the first name to come to mind.

“Apollo? Who names their kid Apollo?”

“Beats me. I met him, not his parents.” The bell rang and Artemis had to fight back a sigh of relief. “See you at lunch.”

During third period, Artemis got called to the principal’s office. She was surprised to see her mother waiting there.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” She asked.

“I forgot to tell you this morning. You have a dentist’s appointment around noon. It was the only time available. Remember that toothache you were telling me about?”

She knew this was about Johnnie. “Of course. How could I have forgotten? It’s a literal pain in the gums.”

Alfred was waiting outside in a nondescript car with dark windows when Artemis and Paula emerged from the school.

Artemis helped her mom in. She knew Alfred would’ve helped, but he apparently suspected Dick was watching. A glance towards the school and she locked eyes with that very individual. He quickly turned away.

Once both she and her mom were in the car and Alfred had driven them a good distance from the school, she spoke up.

“What’s going on? Is Johnnie okay?”

“I believe it would be best for Master Bruce to explain, Miss Crock. As it is, the original Master Dick has requested your presence.”

“Okay...” Artemis was silent for the rest of the ride.

Once they arrived, she waited just long enough for Alfred to tell her where the others were waiting before running off.

In the Batcave, Bruce was examining some files in the medical bay. Johnnie sat on one of the beds while real Wally leaned against a wall nearby and real Roy sat in a chair next to the bed. They all looked over when Artemis arrived.

“What’s going on? Is everyone alright?” Artemis directed the question this time at Bruce.

“I asked Dick, Johnnie, some questions about his experience at Cadmus. The answers prompted me to run some tests. They injected him with a microscopic tracker that needs to be removed and destroyed. That’s how they found the safe house. That, however, is not the worst of it.”

Artemis swallowed as Bruce paused. “What’s the worst of it?”

“They also injected him with multiple chemicals that are quite dangerous. I need to do further testing to find out more. All I can tell right now is that the chemicals are wearing on him, and not at all in a good way.”

“I assume you guys have already heard this?” Artemis directed her gaze at the three boys.

“Yeah. Di-Johnnie wants us to be here when B knocks him out to remove the tracker and do more tests.” Real Wally squeezed Johnnie’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort. The younger boy actually looked quite pale now that she thought about it. “If Cadmus shows up while he’s out, we’ll need all hands on deck.”

“So that’s why B asked Mom and Alfred to come get me from school.” Artemis glanced at the elevator as it opened in order for Paula and Alfred to come out.

“There’s an extra bow and mask in the armory if you don’t have yours. You and Ray will keep watch from the roof. Your mother will alert you to any activity you can’t see using the Batcomputer.”

“Ray. One letter off. Original.” Artemis drawled, glancing at real Roy, Ray.

“I fully intend to take my name back once the clones are outed, thank you very much,” Ray retorted. “The alternate name is only temporary.”

“What about Wally?”

“It’s Garrett now.” Real Wally replied. “Although I fully intend to take my name back too. And I’m staying here as the last line of defense while Alfred and B do their thing. And moral support, even if Johnnie won’t know for sure whether I’m next to him or not.”

“We’ll start once you’re in position.” Bruce finished.

“Right. Let’s go, Ray.”

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Wally asked as Robin hacked the Zeta Tubes.

“Artemis left school early today, in a vehicle that looked suspiciously like it belonged to B. Add in that B still won’t let me return home and the fact Artemis left here in a rush yesterday and the appearance of Peanut in a blown up house…”

“Right. How do you know where to find her, anyways?”

“I have my ways. If B picked her up, she’d be at my place. We’re headed to the place where Peanut was found first though.”

“Still getting over the fact a stuffed elephant was the turning point in your suspic… Ow!”

“It doesn’t matter what the turning point was. Artemis needs investigating.”

“Doesn’t she deserve a right to her own secrets though? Like you?” Robin turned to glare at him. “Right. Shutting up now.”

The screen on Robin’s holo-computer glove turned green. “I’m in. Let’s go.”

“Maybe we should…” Robin pushed him into the Zeta Tube, following close behind him.

The details Barbara had told Dick along with the details Robin had skimmed from the police department led them to a nondescript yet largely unoccupied part of town.

Robin and Wally picked through the rubble.

“I know this place.” Robin said after a few minutes. Wally jogged over to join him at non-speedster speed.

The younger boy brushed aside some dust to reveal a bat-symbol.

“This was a safehouse. I wonder who Bats was hiding. And why that person had Peanut.”

“Do you think it’s related to Cadmus?”

“Who knows.” Robin stood and brushed the dust off his pants. “But I know where our next stop should be.”

“Where?”

“Wayne Manor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I finally reached a satisfactory ending to this story! Yay! It's not posted yet, of course. There's still a lot left to be posted before we reach the end. However, it's rare I reach a good ending to a story in my writing, so I am sharing my joy.


	11. Artemis, Robin Two, Artemis, Robin Two

It was getting dark when the comm unit in Artemis’s ear buzzed.

“We’ve got movement coming from the North.”

Artemis turned her binoculars to look in that direction and zoomed in as far as they would go.

“Cadmus.” Next to her, Ray had done the same. “We were right they would try something, even if they don’t know Johnnie’s out cold.”

Artemis slowly turned in a circle, looking South just in time to see a blur speed up to the main gates. “We’ve got more company. As in, clone company.”

“That’s not good, but keeping clones away is not our priority.” Paula said through the comms. “I’ve doubled electronic and digital security on all entrances. It won’t keep any of them back for long, but it should give you time to come up with a plan. Alfred and B finished the operation moments ago, but it will still take time for Johnnie to wake up. You need to buy us that time.”

“Roger.” Artemis turned to Ray. “We need to create a diversion. Something to distract Cadmus.”

Ray smirked. “I have an idea.”

* * *

Robin was hacking the gates when Kid Flash heard an explosion in the distance.

“Did you hear that?”

Robin paused what he was doing. “Go check it out. Try to be discreet.” He returned to his hacking.

Kid Flash sped away, returning a minute later. “Genomorphs. North side of the property.”

“Cadmus?” Robin’s eyes went wide. “What are they doing at the Manor?!”

“Only one way to find out.” Kid Flash replied, smirking.

Robin smirked back. “I am so ready to beat answers out of those genomorphs.”

* * *

“That. Was brilliant.” Artemis snickered as she watched the Cadmus convoy get attacked by the Robin and Kid Flash clones.

“It won’t last. Cadmus clones tend to have shutdown codes. It’ll buy us until they figure out who’s attacking them. Tops.” Ray looked through the binoculars again. “Get ready.”

Artemis nocked several arrows, preparing to shoot them. The diversion lasted about two more minutes. Then, Kid Flash and Robin suddenly froze, turning catatonic. A genomorph knocked the two out of the way and the convoy continued on to the gates.

Artemis let her arrows fly, the materials from inside them reinforcing the gates. Even this diversion didn’t last long as a couple of the huge genomorphs quickly knocked down the gates.

“We’ve got company.”

“No kidding.”

“News reporter company.”

“Wait, what?” Artemis turned to see a helicopter fly past them. She was glad she was wearing a mask, although her Gotham Academy uniform did her no favors. She quickly hit her comm unit. “We’re compromised.”

“Get down here. We’re evacuating immediately.” It was Bruce, or rather Batman, who answered.

“Come on.” Artemis and Ray ran towards the trapdoor leading into the attic. From there, they ran through the house to the library, where they entered a path to the Batcave. They could hear a splintering sound as the genomorphs broke into the house as the hidden door closed behind them.

“They’re not far behind us. It’s just a matter of finding an entrance.” Ray called as they got to the top level of the Batcave.

Garrett sped up, grabbed Ray, sped back, and then did the same for Artemis.

They found themselves on the bottom level, next to a submarine. Batman was lowering Johnnie, still unconscious, into the vehicle.

“Where’s…?” Artemis began.

Batman cut her off.

“Your mother, Agent A, and I will be taking the Batmobile and providing a diversion. Meanwhile, you, Garrett, Ray, and Johnnie will make your escape in the submarine. Autopilot will take you towards Europe. Once Johnnie wakes up, he can redirect you to a safe house in the Baltic. We will meet you there when we can.”

“The Baltic? That’s not specific.” Ray brought up as Artemis processed the information.

“It’s safer we don’t know exactly where you are headed for the time being. Johnnie will choose which country. Just remember to tell him to go to the Baltic.”

They heard a crash echoing.

“Time is running short. Go.”

Artemis and Ray swiftly joined Garrett and Johnnie in the submarine. Batman shut the hatch and pressed a button to activate the autopilot. He then raced to the Batmobile as the submarine submerged itself and took off.

* * *

Pace pace, pace pace.

Munch munch, munch munch.

“What’s up with you two? You’ve been noticeably anxious since you returned from wherever you went you weren’t supposed to.” Conner crossed his arms. Robin was pacing the floor while Wally was eating pretty much everything in sight. The tv was droning on about a surprising attack on some rich guy’s manor.

Robin shook his head and forced himself to stop pacing. “We were trying to investigate Artemis since she’s been acting weird. We ended up running into some Cadmus genomorphs attacking well…” He motioned to the television. “And there’s a giant blank in our memories. One minute we’re fighting them, the next the attack’s over and they’re gone. It has to have something to do with those missing months at Cadmus. What nothing seems to explain is why they attacked Wayne Manor and what Artemis has to do with any of this.”

“Who’s to say she has anything to do with it at all?” M’gann had walked in while Robin was talking, Zatanna right behind her.

“I don’t believe in coincidences.” Robin replied.

“Maybe M’gann could scan you guys for Cadmus programming. She’s done it for me. It’s harmless.” Robin hesitated at Conner’s suggestion.

Wally looked at M’gann. “You can do that?”

M’gann nodded. “If you trust me to.”

“My mind’s all yours, Beautiful. Don’t let its brilliance overwhelm you.”

Robin was still hesitant. “Tell me if you find anything with Wally. Maybe then…” He trailed off.

M’gann’s eyes glowed green. It took a disconcertingly long time for them to stop glowing.

“You’re all clean. But…”

“But what?” Wally inquired.

M’gann sighed. “Let’s get Kaldur in here first. You all want to hear this.”

Soon, the whole team minus Artemis was gathered.

“There was an uncomfortable amount of Cadmus programming in Wally’s head. I cleared it all out, but the only other person I’ve seen with even close to that amount of programming was Conner.”

“What are you saying?” Robin asked.

“You might not want to hear this, but there’s a possibility you are clones.” Wally and Kaldur froze at her admission.

“No. That cannot be.” Kaldur said.

“There must be a mistake.” Wally replied.

“It’s possible there is a mistake. But just to be safe…”

“You want to clear our heads of Cadmus programming too.” Robin realized.

“It’s safest.” M’gann confirmed.

“Do it, M’gann. We trust you.” Kaldur said.

M’gann looked at Robin for his agreement too.

Robin bit his lip. “I don’t know about this.”

“Dude, if M’gann is telling the truth, we gotta do this.”

“And if she isn’t? I have nothing against M’gann. I just don’t feel right about trusting anyone to alter my brain at all.”

“It is all right, Robin.” Kaldur put a hand on his shoulder. “It can wait. Watch me and Wally over the next few weeks. You do not have to allow this until you are ready.” 

Kaldur then nodded to M’gann to show he was ready and let her do her thing.


	12. Robin One, Artemis, Robin Two

“I didn’t realize a submarine could turn into a plane.”

“We totally underestimated Batman’s tech. We’re almost to Spain already.”

“Guys. I think he’s waking up.”

Johnnie opened his eyes to see Artemis hovering over him. Garrett and Ray came up behind her.

“What? Why aren’t we in the Batcave?”

“Cadmus attacked.” Artemis helped him into a sitting position. “My mom, B, and Alfred took the Batmobile and created a diversion while we took the Batsub… Batplane… I’m not really sure because it was a submarine initially. Anyways, Bats had us take this vehicle and make an escape to Europe. It’s on autopilot right now. He said to tell you to pilot us to the Baltic once you woke up.”

“Where in the Baltic?”

“Said to tell you to choose.”

“Okay. Help me over to the controls.” Johnnie was still kind of woozy and leaned heavily on Artemis as she helped him over to the pilot’s seat, where he took the Batplane off autopilot and directed it towards an island in the Finnish archipelago not far from Helsinki. “We’ll be there in a little over four hours. I’ve programmed the Batplane to go underwater between Sweden and Denmark and continue from there under the sea. Should throw off anyone who’s trying to track our flight path.”

He put a hand to his forehead.

“How are you feeling?” Artemis asked.

“I…” He collapsed into her arms.

“Johnnie!” They all shouted.

Garrett zipped around, soon returning with a heart monitor, a blood pressure gauge, and a stethoscope.

“Bats said he’d send copies of the medical results once they were processed, but I don’t know if he’s had the chance yet. Beside that, he told me to keep a close eye on Rob’s health. Argh. How could I have forgotten?!” He spoke quickly as he checked Johnnie’s blood pressure and used the stethoscope. Artemis attached the heart monitor while he did so.

“Blood pressure’s high!”

“Heart rate’s too fast!”

Garrett announced his findings at the same time as Artemis. They shared a look.

“What do we do?” Ray demanded. “None of us know how to fly this thing. We can’t land it ourselves in order to get to a Zeta Tube.”

Artemis pulled out the comm unit that was still sitting stagnant in her ear. “We do have another option.”

“What? Involve the League? The team? Why in hell would they trust us?!” Garrett snapped.

“I’m on the team. While I might not have been there for them the past week or so, I know one thing.”

“What’s that?” Ray asked.

“At least half of them desperately want to know what happened at Cadmus.”

No sooner had she said it when they all noticed Johnnie starting to breathe heavily. He was sweating heavily too.

“They’ll never be able to catch up to the speed of the Batplane.” Garrett murmured. “The team isn’t the best option.”

“Who do you suggest? Who can catch this plane?”

“Superman.” Ray and Artemis exchanged looks at the suggestion.

Then, Artemis shoved her comm unit back in. “Artemis to Superman. Superman, come in. This is a code red.”

* * *

Artemis paced outside the med bay in the Watchtower. Garrett and Ray had been advised to stay at the safe house until Batman made contact. The League knowing about one clone was bad enough for now.

Superman watched her silently. He’d mercifully held back his questions and obeyed her request not to tell the team or anyone involved with them, sans Batman, about Johnnie’s presence on the Watchtower. As it was, it was only a matter of time before someone found out.

The Watchtower doctor opened the door and nodded to Artemis and Superman. “You can come in now.”

Artemis hurried past the doctor, Superman floating in after her. The doctor closed the door behind them.

“He’s stable. For now at least. But any stress could aggravate his condition. He’ll need to be kept sedated until a solution can be found.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Artemis asked.

“It seems a slow-acting chemical reaction is taking root in his body. It’s unknown what the result will be, but the reaction is slow enough that we have about five days to find a solution.”

“And if we don’t find a solution in time?” Superman was the one to ask the question Artemis really didn’t want to hear the answer to.

The doctor was silent a moment. “If we cannot find a solution, he will, worst case scenario, die or, best case, fall into a long-term coma.”

“A long-term coma is the best case scenario?!” Artemis choked out.

Superman put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt at comfort. “I’m sure that your results combined with Batman’s will render a solution in time. Thank you for your help, doctor.”

The doctor nodded and began to leave.

Artemis stopped him. “Um… given the circumstances, can you please not tell anyone about this?”

The doctor nodded again. “Of course. I’ll leave the information sharing to Batman.” He left.

“When did you find him?” Superman asked.

“A little over a week ago.” Artemis managed to tell him. “The night the adults disappeared.”

“That means the chemicals had to have been in his body for less than two weeks, which is still a lot of time.” Superman mused. His eyes turned a different color as he gazed at Johnnie. “It’s a miracle the doctor was able to stabilize him at all.”

Artemis picked up Dick’s limp hand, the one without the heart monitor and other cords, and squeezed it. “Please survive this. Please.”

Superman stared at her silently for a few moments, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

He had a Bat to question.

* * *

The attack on Wayne Manor turned out to be big news at school on Monday. Everyone kept asking Dick about it, but he could only tell them he wasn’t there when it happened.

He noticed Artemis avoiding him again. Beyond that, she appeared very worried about something. What, he was not sure.

She didn’t sit with them at lunch, or anybody else for that matter. Instead, she went outside and sat near a tree in the courtyard, alone.

“We should go check on her.” Barbara told him. “She’s feeling down for some reason.”

But the moment she noticed their approach, Artemis got up and walked away.

“I blame you again.” Barbara grumbled as they went the rest of the day without seeing her.

After school, Dick caught sight of Artemis leaving in a rush. Sighing, he slid into the car where Alfred was waiting to take him to the Zeta Tube.

“I take it I’m still not allowed to go home?” The question was half-hearted. He already knew the answer.

“I’m afraid not, Master Dick. Although Master Bruce is adamant we keep up appearances.”

Artemis wasn’t at Mount Justice when he arrived, nor did she come for training. Black Canary asked after her absence, but nobody knew where she was.

Dick wondered where she had gone if not Mount Justice. Maybe her mother was in the hospital or something? He would’ve imagined he’d know if that were the case.

The next day was quite the same. As was the day after that. Even Wally was beginning to wonder why Artemis wasn’t showing her face.

They hoped to get some answers soon.


	13. Artemis, Artemis, Robin Two

Time was ticking down. By the day, Johnnie was getting worse.

Artemis agreed to attend school to keep up appearances, but spent the rest of her time with Johnnie or trying to assist with the search for a cure, or at the very least, a neutralizer.

Garrett and Ray wanted to help too, but, as neither of them knew how to fly the Batplane, Batman simply told them to stay out of the way and let him handle it.

On the fourth day, he called Garrett in begrudgingly for his chemistry knowledge.

It was a good thing he had, because Garrett was able to point out an element they’d all missed.

They were able to find a neutralizer much quicker with that knowledge.

Artemis and Garrett waited with bated breath as Batman injected the neutralizer into Johnnie’s system that very night.

Johnnie shuddered, but nothing else happened.

Artemis demanded permission to miss school in order to stay with Johnnie the following day. Batman reluctantly allowed it as he and the Watchtower doctors conducted tests to see if the neutralizer worked.

Around lunchtime, he pulled Artemis and Garrett aside.

“The neutralizer worked. It neutralized the chemicals. However, it is not a cure.”

“What do you mean?” Artemis asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

“He means that the chemicals aren’t hurting him anymore. But they’re not gone either. We need to find a way to flush them from his system, cure him.” Garrett clarified, apparently having already suspected this result.

“Until then, he will be kept on sedatives. He will be kept here, in the Watchtower, for monitoring and safety.” Batman paused. “Visits will risk giving away his presence to the other Justice League members. So you will not be able to stay with him.”

“What?!”

“But…”

Neither of the teens had been expecting the visiting ban.

“You will, however, be able to help search for a cure. There is a lab in the safehouse. I will send a blood sample for you and Ray.” He said this to Garrett and then turned to Artemis. “As much as I know you want to help, the best you can do is divert suspicions. You are needed in Gotham and Star City. You are also needed on the team.”

Artemis clenched her fists, trying to stuff down the helplessness that was threatening to swallow her whole. Amazing how quickly she and the little troll had managed to build a bond. Now, she didn’t know what she’d do without him.

“I will keep you updated.” Batman mentioned in a rare moment of reassurance. “You will know as much as possible.”

She nodded, still fighting down her emotions.

“I’ll update you when I can too.” Garrett said as Batman walked away. “We’ll keep you in the loop, I promise.”

“Thanks.” She said. “I just want him to be alright.”

“Me too, Artemis. Me too.”

* * *

Artemis didn’t know what to do with herself. It had been a mostly uneventful past few weeks, but things felt like they were ramping up. The main events that had occurred were a couple missions in Qurac which she hadn’t been a part of; clone Dick’s birthday party, which she had been a part of; and most recently a mission gone south shortly after Red Arrow joined the team. That mission had been bookended by familial discussions: her mother before the mission and her father after.

Her father had just left after solidifying the doubts she had concerning her place on the team.

It didn’t help that clone Robin was discreetly trying to get her to spill her secrets, discreetly investigating her behavior. 

She squeezed her eyes shut, pleaded herself not to cry.

Then, she picked up her cell phone. The call rang once, twice.

Ray picked up the phone. “Hey Artemis. What’s up?”

“Two things.” Artemis said. “First, any updates?”

“We had a breakthrough a day or two ago. We’re getting close. You know we’d call near immediately if we’d found something. The second thing?”

Artemis gulped. “I need to talk to Garrett.”

Once Garrett was on the phone, she unloaded all her feelings onto him. Her doubts, her fears, her hopes. Garrett listened, occasionally assuring her he was still listening.

“Look, Artemis. If it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t even have the slightest chance to save Dick… Johnnie. I credit you with saving my best friend. And if I were in other me’s situation, I’d accept you despite your parentage.” Garrett took a deep breath. “I can’t speak for other Dick. There are multiple reasons why he might be investigating you. You do shout ‘suspicious’ and you haven’t been in the hero community for long. He could also be investigating as a sub-programming from Cadmus. There’s no knowing.”

Artemis waited silently as he collected himself to say whatever he was planning to say next.

“Let me remind you, though, of the entire reason you are in on the secret. Batman trusts you. Do you know how hard it is to gain his trust? And he doesn’t just trust you in general, he trusts you with Johnnie. I know that if other Dick knew the reasons you have for keeping quiet, he’d understand and support you. I could tell clearly that Johnnie does. You have nothing to fear Artemis. Keep your head up.”

Artemis’s lips perked into a slight smile. “Thank you, Garrett.”

“Anytime. I’d better get back to the science-y stuff though. We’re really close to another breakthrough and I know we’ll have a cure soon.” Garrett said. “You know we’ll keep you posted.”

The dial tone indicated the boy had hung up. Artemis wiped away some stray tears that had escaped.

It was going to be alright. She knew it was.

* * *

Robin stared at the ground as he ended his call with Wally.

He wasn’t quite ready to return to the others yet, so he stared at his family’s circus poster.

“I wish I knew what to do.” He murmured.

“I’m on a mission. I can’t talk right now.” He startled as he heard Artemis’s faint voice.

Quietly, he slipped closer to her, careful to keep out of sight.

“No. I can’t tell you where I am. Not specifically.” 

He caught sight of her. She was on the phone, pacing. She hadn’t noticed him yet.

“You did? Did it work?” She stopped mid-step and listened for a moment. “Okay. Keep me posted. He’s important to me too. I’ve got to…” Another moment of listening, she continued in a softer voice. “How’d you know?” 

She turned in Robin’s direction and he had to be careful she didn’t see him.

“I didn’t realize it was so important to him. I understand, but know that we’re already doing everything we can.”

Robin felt a rush of betrayal. Was she talking to Wally? Wally had literally just been talking to him and… Wally knew about his suspicions. He wouldn’t go behind his back like this, would he?

“You do understand I can’t talk about that kind of stuff? At least not right now?” Artemis grimaced. “Okay. I have to go. I’ll call you in a couple days. Once I’m back in Gotham.” She allowed a small smile to creep onto her face. “Yeah. Tell Ray I said hi. I hope the next news will be really good news. Bye.” She clicked the off button on her phone and stared at it fondly.

Then, she shook her head and headed back in the direction of their cabin.

Robin thought about what he’d heard. It couldn’t be Wally. Wally didn’t have a friend named Ray, especially not a friend named Ray that Artemis would also know.

So who was it? Were they really talking about him? He didn’t have a friend named Ray either. But who else would have a stake in Haly’s Circus. Argh. He was definitely overthinking things.

He sat outside for another fifteen twenty minutes or so before heading back to their cabin as well.

He wondered if he’d be able to sleep that night.


	14. Artemis, Robin One

“He’s been weaned off sedatives for two days now. He’s not getting worse, a clear relief. He’s breathing easier, which is also a relief. But he’s not waking up. Batman says all we can do now is wait and see. I just hope he doesn’t wake up at an inopportune moment.”

The words ran through Artemis’s head as she watched the video feed of the Justice League Induction Ceremony from inside the Hall of Justice. She ignored the others’ comments on Roy’s acceptance. It was hard not to grimace at the cheers, but she had to remind herself that they didn’t know what bad things could happen if they weren’t careful.

As the conversation turned to the use of the word “sidekick,” she forced herself to smile.

Even if it felt very much like the calm before the storm.

* * *

Johnnie felt numb and out of it. A couple coughs shook his body, but that was all he could register.

There was party music somewhere just within his hearing range. It was faint, but clearly some sort of celebration.

A familiar hand brushed his hair off his forehead, seemingly checking his temperature. He could clearly hear someone bustling around checking vitals.

Where was he? He remembered being on the Batplane with Artemis and Garrett and Ray. What had happened after? He’d passed out. How long ago was that?

“Wake up, chum.” He coughed a couple more times. He recognized the voice. Bruce. No, Batman.

Batman sighed and adjusted a blanket that was draped over his body.

“You’ll wake when you’re ready. I know that. But I can’t help the feeling that you’ll wake at a bad time.”

Another sigh and Johnnie heard Batman’s cape sweeping the floor as the man left the room.

Time ticked by. Johnnie heard the music die down and a rumble of voices, some less familiar than others.

He didn’t know how long it had been. He felt weak. Probably because his body currently was weak.

“Robin. You have to wake up now. Please. We don’t have long.”

Johnnie’s eyes slid open. He had no energy to be startled at the hologram before him.

“Aqualad?”

Aqualad was silent for a moment. “You can see me?”

The realization came crashing down on Johnnie. How could Aqualad be here? Was it his clone? If so…

“Robin. Calm down. I’m not my clone.”

“How…?” Johnnie fell into a fit of coughing.

“It must be something Cadmus did to you. I don’t know how you can see me. Nobody’s been able to see me for months. Not since…”

Johnnie felt a rush of horror. “Not since you died.” He coughed again.

“Robin. Listen to me. I know you’re weak, but you have to get into the air vents. Hide somewhere they can’t find you.”

“Who? Cadmus?”

Ghost Aqualad grimaced. “I wish it were that simple. Since only you can hear me, I suppose it is safe for me to speak and explain it to you, but only if you move. Only if you hide.”

Little by little, Johnnie managed to push himself off the bed and make it over to a nearby counter, which he climbed to reach the air vents.

He had just removed the vent cover, and paused to let a wave of dizziness pass, when he heard voices.

“Johnnie? Are you awake?” He felt relieved for a moment, then Ghost Aqualad made an effort to push him into the vents, although the dead Atlantean was intangible.

“Go!”

“Bat…” Johnnie began in a whisper.

“Go!”

Johnnie scrambled into the vents and replaced the cover behind him.

“Keep moving.” Ghost Aqualad whispered. “Keep moving while I explain. Batman and the others are under the control of Vandal Savage and Klarion the Witch Boy. They have access to their memories.” Johnnie opened his mouth. “Don’t speak. Keep moving. I know not the state of the team or the originals. I can find a way to check, but it is too dangerous for you to try to leave the Watchtower. Yes, you are on the Watchtower. If you try to use the Zeta Tubes, they will announce your presence. Savage and Klarion may already know you are somewhere on the station, but, as long as you keep moving, and you deactivate the motion sensors, they will not be able to find you easily. Go right.” Johnnie followed his instructions, feeling increasing panic. “Keep calm. I’m directing you to Batman’s room aboard the tower. I’ve spent some of my time as a spirit taking in the Watchtower layout, so I know the way. Turn right. Once there, you need to act quickly. Use Batman’s tech to disable security, especially the motion sensors.”

“But…”

“Shhh. They can hear you, but not me. Left. Once the motion sensors are deactivated, left again, you need to find a place to lay low and hide, at least long enough for someone to fix this mess. I have confidence that someone, straight, will, but I don’t know who. Right. Second vent cover.”

Tumbling into Batman’s room, Johnnie worked fast, grabbing a spare gauntlet, disabling security, downloading blueprints, and determining a route to a security blind spot. He took the gauntlet with him as he launched himself back into the vents and worked his way to the blind spot. He suspected he had less than a twenty minute window before they noticed security was down and did something to get it back up.

Ghost Aqualad kept pace with him. “Don’t slow down. I know you’re exhausted. You can rest when you get to that blind spot. I’ll keep watch for you once you’re safe.”

Johnnie made it to the blind spot with seconds to spare. He heard a vring as security came back up around him.

He was breathing hard, but he was temporarily safe. Fighting off an impending headache, he looked at the gauntlet again.

“What are you thinking? Ghost Aqualad whispered.

“Art…” Another coughing fit, much weaker.

“Artemis? Mask the destination and receiver. They can’t know who you alerted.”

Johnnie could feel himself slowing down as he double-encrypted the message and sent it to Artemis’s cell phone.

Barely had he masked the signal and hit send when his energy ran out and he felt the blackness of oblivion pull him under.


	15. Artemis, Robin One

Artemis yawned as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and made for the window. She glanced at her phone when it buzzed. She didn’t know who could be texting her this early, especially considering the team would be meeting up in less than half an hour and could wait until then. At second thought, maybe it was Batman or Garrett or Ray with an update.

She snatched her phone and took it with her, annoyed when she saw the message was double-encrypted.

She called Garrett and Ray. “Did you send me a message just now?”

“What are you doing up? Isn’t it 6:30 in the morning there?” Ray inquired.

“Meeting with the team to discuss something that happened last night.” Artemis explained briefly as she jogged towards the Zeta tube. “You didn’t answer my question. The message is double-encrypted.”

“Send it our way. Maybe Gar-bear can figure it out.” In the background, Artemis heard Garrett yelling at Ray about the nickname. She shook her head fondly.

She quickly sent the encrypted message through the secret channel Batman had made to encode written communications and prevent the originals’ location from being leaked. “Okay. Sent.”

“We’ll let you know what it says.” Ray hung up just as Artemis caught sight of Robin walking in her direction.

“Hey Robin.” Robin was quiet as he reached her. “I appreciated your taking my side yesterday.”

“Something still doesn’t make sense to me.” Robin said. “I know Batman trusts you and that we trust, or at least should trust, you, but I admit I still have a few suspicions. I don’t want to mention them in front of the team, but I’d like it if we could talk them out sometime.”

“Sure, Robin. We can talk later. I think we have that meetup to attend to right now, and we shouldn’t be late.”

They headed to the hidden Zeta Tube together.

“Last night’s mission was quite successful, but one thing remains the same.”

“The bad guys saw us coming.”

“Well, at least we know none of us are the mole.”

The team was walking into the mission room together when Batman spoke up.

“Correct. The mole was Red Arrow.”

They all expressed surprise, but Artemis quickly swallowed hers down in exchange for confusion as Batman and Red Tornado explained. Batman knew Red Arrow wasn’t the only clone, so why was he pinning this all on clone Roy? Or revealing him as a clone at all?

Batman left, telling them to stay there and the team discussed suspicions. Soon after, Red Tornado shut down, heightening suspicions that something was wrong.

Half the team went to work on getting Red Tornado back up and running. The other half, including Artemis, went to find Red Arrow.

As Miss Martian lowered the bioship so that Aqualad and Red Arrow could board, Artemis became aware of a buzzing in her pocket.

Narrowing her eyes, she pulled it out just as it went to voicemail. The screen showed eight missed calls.

“Should you really be answering that right now?” Superboy asked as she hit the button to call back.

“I’m not telling anyone our location. It should be fine.”

“No! Nothing’s fine!” Garrett answered the phone in time to hear the last few words.

“Is that Wally?” Superboy asked, obviously listening in. Aqualad and Red Arrow looked at her in interest as they took their seats. Red Arrow looked ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

“What do you mean by that?” She quickly added after a second’s thought. “I’m not the only one who can hear you.”

“Crap. Any Justice League members there?”

“No. Just team members.”

“Should you even be telling them that?” Superboy cut in. “How do they know about the team? You never answered if that was Wally.”

“Look. I don’t care how much you tell, but that message you got this morning was a distress call! Johnnie’s awake and you know what could happen if they find him!”

“Hang on a second. Johnnie’s safe. He’s on…” She trailed off.

“A space station with Savage, Klarion and twenty-plus mind-controlled Justice Leaguers?”

A frozen pause. “Excuse me. I think I misheard you. Did you say…”

“He’s telling the truth.” Red Arrow interrupted before going on to explain his side of the story.

He finished as the other half of the team linked up with them.

“I didn’t see anyone named Johnnie on the Watchtower though.”

“Hopefully, that means he was able to get away and find a hiding place.” Artemis said, before realizing her phone was still on. She hit the hang up button without saying anything else.

“What’s this about someone named Johnnie?” Robin asked. “We really need to compare notes.”

“It seems there’s a civilian on the Watchtower. One who Artemis knew about.” Superboy narrowed his eyes at Artemis.

“I can explain after the crisis at hand is over. Let’s figure out exactly what’s going on.” Artemis said. At looks from the team, she added. “I promise I will tell you everything I know after we save the aforementioned civilian and the Justice League.”

* * *

Johnnie startled awake, unsure how long he’d slept.

“It’s okay.” Aqualad (he was a ghost, right?) said. “They still haven’t found you. They’ve gotten close, but not close enough.”

Johnnie pulled his knees to his chest, staying quiet so that no one would hear him. Ghost Aqualad read the look on his face.

“It’s been hours, but no one has come yet. They are likely creating a vaccine as we speak. All you can do is wait. I will continue to keep watch.”

Johnnie nodded minutely.

Within minutes he was bored, but he knew the slightest sound could cause a battle he would surely lose. He was still weak and it had been a while since he’d done any fighting.

An hour ticked by. Then another. It was dark where Johnnie was, so he passed the time by counting his own breaths. Occasionally, he would lose count and have to start over, but that just helped him to better prevent his own monotonicity.

Then, he heard a sound. He immediately stiffened.

“Recognized: Icon 2-0, Doctor Fate 1-7, Captain Marvel 1-5.”

There was a scuffle. Then, “ Trulb tuo ‘Mazahs’!”

He heard a yelp. There was more, but he caught sight of Ghost Aqualad in front of him. The ghost put a finger to his lips.

“I believe they are members of the team. Security is down once more and they appear to be tagging the Justice League members with a vaccine. Tread carefully, Robin.”

Johnnie nodded quietly and pushed himself to his feet. His legs buckled under him and he thudded against the door.

“What was that?” A young voice asked.

Then, the door hiding Johnnie opened, he tried to scramble backwards, but slipped.

“Hey. It’s okay. Wait. You look familiar.” The girl in front of him had black hair and was, admittedly kind of cute.

“I…” Johnnie reconsidered his words. “I’m Johnnie. Who are you?”

“Zatanna. What are you doing on the Watchtower, Johnnie?”

“Medical treatment.” Ghost Aqualad informed.

Johnnie quickly repeated it. “Medical treatment.” Darn. This girl really was cute… His cheeks heated up as he noticed their proximity.

“Don’t flirt with her.” Ghost Aqualad scolded softly. “Your clone has already done so.”

“I… Where’s Batman?” Zatanna blinked in surprise at the question.

“Um… I don’t think you should be near him right now. He’s kind of…” She trailed off. “You’d better stick with me right now.” She raised an eyebrow at his attire, a hospital gown and nothing else. “Evig mih lausac sehtolc.”

Johnnie startled when the magic spread over him, then relaxed when he noticed he was now dressed in a hoodie and jeans. He took note of the ten-year-old nearby and motioned to him silently.

“That’s Billy. Explain more later.” Zatanna told him, holding out a hand.

Johnnie took it with some hesitation and he, Zatanna, and Billy hurried through the halls.

“Stay here.” Zatanna said, when they got close to the monitor room. “Billy, stay with him.”

She took off for the monitor room, slipping out of their sight just as they all heard the clock strike midnight.

“Happy New Year, Justice League.” An automated voice played a familiar song.

“New Year?” Johnnie whispered softly. “How long was I out?”

Billy looked at him. “I had no idea anyone was on the Watchtower for medical treatment, for reference. I don’t have any answers.” He looked his waiting companion up and down. “Who are you, anyways? You look familiar.”

Johnnie said nothing, looking around for Ghost Aqualad. The dead sidekick was closeby, watching the direction Zatanna had gone in and occasionally glancing over his shoulder at Johnnie and Billy. 

“She’s coming back. Artemis is with her.” The ghost said after a few minutes. “The rest of the team are right behind them.

It was moments before the two girls slid to a halt in front of the two boys. Artemis swiftly scooped Johnnie into a hug.

“Thank god. You have no clue how worried I’ve been. First, you collapsed on us. Then we had to neutralize chemicals in you, then find a cure, and you didn’t wake up right away when we finally did find that cure.”

“Where are…?” Johnnie trailed off as he caught sight of the rest of the team, or, more specifically his clone. He quickly looked away from his double, just to notice Aqualad.

Living Aqualad.

He swallowed and looked at Ghost Aqualad, who was also looking at Living Aqualad.

“No need to be so freaked out.” Ghost Aqualad whispered. “You knew I had a clone.”

“No.” Johnnie whispered. Artemis quickly followed his gaze and then tried to block his line of sight.

“Don’t look at him. The last thing we need is for you to freak out right now.”

“But he’s dead!”

“No. He’s not. Well, that him isn’t. I guess… I guess other him is. But we have no proof that he’s dead! So just calm down, okay?”

“No. No, no, no.”

“Johnnie. It’s okay. We’ll sort this out, okay? Just…”

“He can’t replace…!”

“No one’s replacing anyone!” Artemis hastily cut him off. “Everyone’s circumstances are different. I mean, Red Arrow…”

“What about Red Arrow?” Red Arrow grumbled, coming up behind them.

Everyone jumped.

“I already know I replaced the real Speedy. We need to find him. I don’t think he’s really dead.”

Johnnie’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. He shook his head and did a couple breathing exercises. Finally, managing to ask, “Do they know anything?”

“I still don’t understand what’s happening here. This is all so crazy!” Rocket exclaimed. “How can there be two Robins?!”

“Wait! What?!” The boy actually dressed as Robin startled and then took a closer look at Johnnie.

“Please don’t tell me I’m the only one who recognized the similarities.” Rocket put her hands on her hips.

“Of course not.” Artemis said. “I’m sure…”

“How long have you known?” Kid Flash cut in angrily. “How long have you known Rob was cloned?!”

“I…”

“You’ve been keeping this from us, haven’t you? How many clones are there?” Kid Flash continued. “How many villains are you working for?”

“Now hold on a second.” Artemis stood up. “I am not working for any villains.”

“Then, how do you explain this, huh?! How do you explain the fact you know about Rob’s clone?”

Artemis leveled a glare at Kid Flash. “I am not working for any villains. It started as one mission to Cadmus and expanded from there. Batman knows too.”

“Yeah right! You’re just using Batman to cover for your activities! I can’t believe I kissed you! You didn’t even kiss back!”

“I admit I felt awkward kissing a friend’s clone.”

Kid Flash spluttered.

“Now you’re calling him a clone?!” Robin cut in. “What is really going on here?!”

They all started talking over each other.

Johnnie took a deep breath. “Shut up!”

Silence.

“Artemis is not at fault here. She saved my life. Multiple times. And her claims aren’t unproven. There are four… five including Superboy, clones in this room right now!” He pushed himself up, using the wall for support. “If she hadn’t found me that day at Cadmus, two originals would be dead. Having one dead is bad enough.”

“Whose original is dead?” Living Aqualad was the one who posed the question, not missing Johnnie’s flinch or the way he looked away.

“I… I’d rather not talk about it.” Johnnie bit his lip. “Batman knows. And Artemis. Ask them.”

“We don’t have proof he’s dead.” Artemis comforted, but Johnnie pulled away.

“Th-then explain…” He trailed off when Ghost Aqualad shook his head.

“They can’t see me,” The ghost reminded him.

“I’m sensing a mystic presence. Right where he keeps looking.” Zatanna whispered. “I can’t see what he’s looking at, but I can sense it’s not nothing.”

“Team? What are you doing on the Watchtower?” Flash asked. “Holy moly. Is that another…?”

“Apparently.” Robin bit out. “We’ll explain what we know when everyone’s awake. Then they can explain what they know.” He glared at his double and Artemis.

Soon, everyone was converged in the monitor room. Robin didn’t miss the way Batman kept glancing at his double, who was leaning heavily on Artemis.

Once the explanation about Savage and Klarion and about Red Arrow was done, Artemis made to slip away with Johnnie.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Kid Flash barked.

Artemis sighed and looked at Batman for help.

“Nearly two months ago, shortly before the world was split into adults and children for a brief period of time, I assigned Artemis to investigate a new Cadmus facility I’d located. I told her not to inform the team as we did not want Robin, Kid Flash, or Aqualad falling back into their hands trying to investigate Cadmus.” He paused to ensure everyone was listening. “She discovered Robin, the original Robin, hidden in that facility, and she rescued him the moment she had the chance. We did not know at the time what had happened to Kid Flash, and we only had an assumption of what happened to Aqualad. What we did know is that none of them escaped Cadmus when we thought they did. That initial escape was staged.”

“Wait. If the escape was staged…” Superboy mentioned. “What part did I play in all of this? I can’t remember what happened at Cadmus. Most likely because the g-gnomes erased my memories of it. What happened?”

“There are only two people now who can answer that. And one of them is here now.” Batman looked pointedly at Johnnie, who shook his head.

“No. I… I can’t…”

“Please, Johnnie. You have to.” Artemis murmured. “You’re the only one in this room who can.”

Johnnie’s shoulders slumped. “What part does it blank out at?”

“The moment we enter the building.” Robin supplied.

“A-Aqualad noticed something… in hindsight, it was probably a genomorph… in an elevator. I noticed the elevator was a high-speed one. It didn’t belong in a two-story building. From there, we used my grappler’s rope to go down as far as possible. We discovered how they made their own energy, and the fact they were manufacturing living weapons. There was also a file on Project Kr, but it was triple encrypted. I… I couldn’t get through before we were attacked by ‘security’.” He made air quotations with one hand on the last word. “We got to the elevator, and started going down. KF protested cuz out was up. And Aqualad said we were in over our heads. Then we reached the floor Project Kr was on. We got in, but were trapped in the room Project Kr was held in. At that point, we all tried to contact the League, but we were too far underground.” He took a deep breath. “We made a unanimous decision. We couldn’t leave Project Kr the way he was, trapped in a pod with no way out. So, we released him.” He trailed off.

“And then?” Artemis prodded.

Johnnie gulped. “And then he attacked us.” Everyone’s eyes widened and there were several gasps, including from Superboy himself. “I dunno if he was in control or the g-gnomes were. I just know he knocked us out and that was the end of it. For then at least.”

“Then they cloned and replaced you.” Black Canary said.

“Um… don’t really want to be the jerk here, but how do we know he’s the real deal? And not another clone?” Kid Flash said. “He could be feeding us lies about Cadmus for all we know. To gain our trust because we know nothing about what happened that day.”

“Maybe we could psychically scan him for Cadmus programming.” Miss Martian suggested cautiously.

Batman looked at Johnnie and then at Martian Manhunter. “Can you do that, J’onn?”

Martian Manhunter nodded. “If he’ll let me.”

They all looked at Johnnie, who looked at Artemis, who nodded. Johnnie then looked at Ghost Aqualad, who also nodded. The ghost held Johnnie’s gaze as Martian Manhunter did his thing.

“He’s clean.” Martian Manhunter looked at Batman.

“There’s something else.” Batman realized. “What is it?”

“It is not relevant to the conversation at hand. He is free of Cadmus’s influence. No mental tampering evident.”

“Is it related to the chemicals that nearly killed him?” Artemis asked. Everyone looked at her. “That was the reason he was here in the first place.”

“Take him back to the Med Bay while we sort out the issues that brought the team to the Watchtower. I’ll call up a doctor to look him over.” Batman’s tone was final. No more questions would be answered at present.


	16. Kid Flash One, Robin One

“Stop it, Garrett.” Ray grumbled. “Your pacing is making me more nervous. Plus, I can smell burnt carpet.”

Garrett turned to face him, opening his mouth to retort, when the phone finally rang.

It took less than a second for Garrett to pick up the call. “What the hell, Artemis? It’s been nearly an entire day!”

“Don’t blame me for her not updating you.” A quiet voice replied.

All the fight and anxiety immediately left Garrett’s body, replaced with relief. “Johnnie! How are you feeling? We’ve been really worried about you.”

By now, Ray had joined him, so Garrett put the phone on speaker.

“I’m… fine.” A pause. “Artemis says not to lie, so I guess the correct word is surviving.”

“She’s right. You don’t have to lie to us, Johnnie.” Ray piped up. “We’re all in this together.”

“I’m still a little shaken and overwhelmed, to be honest. It went from mid-November to New Year’s Eve in an instant for me. Probably because I was under for most of it.” They could hear him taking a deep breath. “I hear you helped find a cure. S-so I could live.”

“You’d have done the same for any of us. You know that, Dude.” Garrett said. “Plus, I couldn’t let my best bud die without a fight, you know? Not only would I never forgive myself, but who would hack our video games so that I’d never win? You’re the only person I’ve known to do that.”

Johnnie let out a half-laugh, half-sob. “When can I see you again?”

“Probably soon. Ask Bats. We still don’t know how to fly that damn plane, and he has it right now. Think he’ll be willing to give me and Ray flying lessons after this?”

“M-maybe. I’ll ask him.” They could hear some voices in the background on Johnnie’s end. “I’ve got to go. The doctor just got here, and I’m sure Artemis would prefer to have her phone back.”

“See you soon. And feel better, okay? We’ll all get through this. Somehow.” Garrett assured.

“Mm.” Johnnie hung up the phone.

Garrett allowed himself a small smile as he looked at Ray.

“It’s going to be okay. He’s going to be okay. Eventually.”

* * *

Johnnie was fine being the long lost twin. He really was. He didn’t want to hide anything about himself anymore and he didn’t care that the clone wanted to keep the name Richard Grayson.

Maybe he cared a little, actually. But there was no hiding the trauma. There was no hiding the scars. There was no hiding his newfound struggle to overcome his own timidness.

There was no hiding the ghosts.

And the ghosts were there constantly. From the moment Ghost Aqualad, who demanded Johnnie call him Kaldur, and Johnnie’s dead cousin whom he’d named himself after noticed he could see them, he’d never been alone. In some ways, that was a blessing. In others, it was kind of creepy. However, they helped Johnnie keep the gnawing fear that plagued him from day to day, the fear that Cadmus would return for him, at bay.

So as he stepped into Gotham Academy for the first time in over half a year and greeted the blonde who had become a sister to him and the gingers who had decided to relocate to Gotham to stay close to him, he looked over at his ghost pals and smiled softly.

He could do this. He’d be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending is a little abrupt, but I'm satisfied with it, so I decided not to change it. Hope you enjoyed Young Justice: Cadmus Clones. :)


End file.
